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Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Tuesday, 24 Nov
Competition: ???label.competicio1???
Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona

Resultat:

FC Barcelona: 2
Inter M.: 0

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

Match Report

Photos: Miguel Ruiz/Álex Caparrós - FCB

More info

The goals

1-0, Piqué (min 10)
2-0, Pedro (min 25)

Performance of Champions (2-0)

Roger Bogunyà

The European Champions, even without Messi and Ibra, took a giant step towards classification for the next round of the Champions League and also took top spot in Group F, with a convincing 2-0 win over Inter Milan tonight.

There was plenty of pressure on Barca as they came into the game needing a win and with Messi and Ibrahimovic both on the bench, but they stayed true to their style of play and dominated the game with a display of nearly perfect intense, organised and precise football, particularly in the first half, that never gave Inter a glimmer of a chance. The early goals from Pique and Pedro proved more than enough to put Barca at the top of their group and with every chance of progressing to the next round – a draw in Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev will now be sufficient to see them through.

Up-tempo start and early goal

Barca came out on fire, applying pressure on Inter as they tried to bring the ball out and unsettling the Italian champions from the off. With Xavi and Iniesta linking up fluidly in midfield and Pedro and Henry troubling the Inter defence, it was a great start from the Champions, who found themselves one up on 10 minutes as from a corner. a Henry header at the near post found Pique at the back struggling free of his marker to fire powerfully past the Italian keeper

Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi in charge

Barca were playing true to the intentions Guardiola had laid out in his pre-match press conference: attacking and forgetting the absence of Messi and Ibrahimovic. But they were doing more – Busquets was wiping Motta out of the game and Iniesta was seemingly everywhere, tackling back, dancing through tackles and creating danger wherever he went. This was Barca at their imperious dominating best.

Brilliant second goal

Then there was Xavi – controlling the game and linking up the play with his typical style. It was the Catalan who set up the second with a defence splitting ball through to Alves cutting in from the right to cross to the far post where Pedro volleyed past Julio Cesar to round off a truly excellent move. After just 25 minutes, Barca were two up and playing beautiful football, with a nearly perfect midfield.

Inter were forced to get down and dirty as they attempted to break Barca's rhythm with continuous interruptions, but it was no use as Guardiola's team lifted themselves above it all and refused to be ruffled. Proof of Barca's dominance was the fact that Inter's first effort on goal didn't come till the 44th minute when Valdes easily stopped a long range effort from Milito.

Barca control the game

Barca proved that they knew how to administer their lead in the second half as Milito and Eto'o, pitifully under supplied on his return to the Nou Camp, failed to worry Valdes' goal. Xavi could well have made it three with a good header that Julio Cesar did well to save, but Guardiola's men were always in charge and ran out worthy winners to take top spot in their group on 8 points, with Inter and Rubin both on 6 and Dynamo Kiev on 5 points.

Preview

Waiting for news from Kazan

The Barça and Inter players will already know the result of the match between Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev as the match in Russia kicks off at 6.30 pm. A win for Rubin would leave Barça no room for error.

The moment of truth

Jordi Clos

Barça and Inter Milan go head to head in the Camp Nou on Tuesday evening (20:45 h, TVE1 and R@dio Barça) in a match that will be crucial to the outcome of Group F. Messi and Ibra are still struggling to be fit in time to face Eto’o and Mourinho.

With only two points separating the four teams in Group F, these last two matchdays will be heart stopping affairs. At the moment Inter is top with 6 points followed by Rubin Kazan and Barça with 5 and Dynamo Kiev with 4. But the group is so tight that everything could change in an instant. From now on a win is worth its weight in gold while a defeat could be fatal.

Barça need four points to mathematically guarantee qualification. However, a defeat against Inter combined with a win for Rubin would leave the reigning champions out of the Champions League.

A demanding calendar

Starting with Inter, Barça now face a challenging run of matches. Next up after Inter is Real Madrid. Then it’s on the road for three matches including Kiev. 2009 will finish with the World Club Cup. An exciting calendar.

Barça injury doubts

However, Barça have some serious problems ahead of this challenging fixture list. Abidal and Touré came down with flu on Friday and Márquez was feverish on Saturday, though he has made a full recovery. Ibrahimovic and Messi remain doubtful. The Swedish striker has already missed the last two games while Messi limped off the pitch in Bilbao during the 1-1 draw against Athletic Club that knocked Barça off top spot in the league table.

Some familiar faces

Ibra and Samuel Eto’o will be two of the main attractions and the Cameroon striker will be determined to score for his new club in the Camp Nou. The stadium will be packed to the rafters to see some other old friends – former Barça stars Motta and Quaresma, not to forget José Mourinho. Sneijder is the Portuguese manager’s only fitness doubt.

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